Lyrical Review of Bob Dylan's "All Along The Watchtower" (1967)

[@shmuelben2412]

Amazing because the song is so short but provokes a long discussion, this says something about this wonderful song. I always saw in this song a dialogue between good and evil👍👍

[@CalicoSilver]

Indeed! It is a short song pregnant with interpretive opportunities (I think, haha).

[@ethanschneider2711]

Great review! I personally think this song is about Jesus on the cross talking to the good thief. However I really appreciated your thoughts because I've never heard it before, such as the performing artist and the creative artist. I also really liked how you mentioned that the Bible is critical to Dylan's art.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Ethan! I thought about the Jesus-and-thief-on-the-cross idea once too, but the fact that it was the kindly-speaking thief that was assuaging the deep worries and concerns of the joker (instead of the other way around) made me rethink that idea. But yeah, Dylan loves to infuse his songs with so much Biblical references, and that makes his songs so interesting for those of us who enjoy the Bible. Thanks again! Jeff

[@ethanschneider2711]

@@CalicoSilver have you ever thought about the good thief being the thief and the joker being the criminal on the other side of Jesus and the thief saying don't give up on life? Just curious

[@dannybaseball2444]

@@CalicoSilver But if the thief had been told by Christ that he would join him in Heaven that day, he might well be offering grace in a kind voice. Put into context with the other songs on the album, especially I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine, Drifter's Escape, Dear Landlord, Wicked Messenger (from Eli he did come!) it seems clear to me that Dylan is intent on making an album of Christian introspection. I just can't see Dylan's personal tussle with performance anxiety creeping into these songs. On the other hand, your very rich exploration of the vineyard metaphor sent me back to Isaiah, feeling more than a little sheepish that I missed it. Wonderful stuff, official Bible study or not. Will listen again. Edit: Just started exploring your channel, found the Bob Dylan playlist. Playing it in the background as I go about the morning. Your profession--Chem teacher--your musicianship, advanced while funky, and your approach to God talk, even tempered in public firey with friends, are so eerily similar to my closest dearest friend, Jim, who passed a few years ago that I'm taking it as heavenly howdy. Really wonderful Dylan stuff here Jeff. Thanks for the work involved.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@dannybaseball2444 Hi Dan! Thanks so much for your great comments. I wanted to correct you a bit however. I don't recall saying that Dylan had "performance anxiety concerns", but rather he clearly (and documented as such) had experienced a dip in enthusiasm and inspiration and was disillusioned with the music industry that he found himself trapped by. Not performance anxiety, though. Anyway, thanks again for all your kind words. I do think very much that Dylan was/is an avid enthusiast, even a scholar, of the Bible, and used it constantly on his albums. I love the Bible as well and I find this aspect of his art to be especially attractive and intriguing. And by the way, I too have lost a few dear friends over these past years and think of them all the time. I am glad that my channel brings your friend Jim to mind. All my best to you. Jeff

[@pamelamacneil1331]

Thank you Jeff for taking the time to give such a well thought out detailed review of such a sophisticated song. Dylans song writing is obviously not traditional, but on such an intelligent, creative level that understanding this songs meaning requires an almost scholarly analysis. Amazing! You gave a truly worthy analysis. Go Well!

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Pamela. I do wonder if I am constructing meaning and analysis that may be completely off the mark, but it sure is fun doing it. I hope I am not guilty of “plowing his earth” too much, haha!! Thanks again for your encouraging comment. Jeff

[@anoccasionaldream]

That was the first song I learnt to play on guitar almost 20 years ago! And the first Dylan's song I've ever heard, but from U2 first, so I was always singing U2 version of it with last verse changed (but after your review I can see some additional meaning of that changed verse, maybe a bit less optimistic.. because it's kind of horsemen came and went but nothing changed) That's really amazing review ~ rveals so much about another my favourite song! Thank you 🙏

[@CalicoSilver]

I don’t think I have ever heard the U2 version of the song, even though U2 is my wife’s favorite band. (I adore the early U2albums produced by Steve Lillywhite). Anyway, this and the It’s Alright Ma are the two Dylan lyrical reviews I am most “proud” of. 😉👍

[@anoccasionaldream]

@@CalicoSilver I think it was on some official concert album, it was so long ago I don't remember which exactly.. I discovered Dylan generally through my interest to U2, there was some russian U2 site where fans used guestbook as forum to discuss stuff, and I saw someone mentioned that Bono with lyrics continued tradition of Lennon and Lennon continued tradition of Dylan ~ so I became interested. But I imagined Dylan's music at first judging by that hard rock U2 version of All along the Watchtower and was very surprized when heard later 4th time around:-) (it was in Vanilla Sky soundtrack on some CD with albums or soundtracks of that year in mp3) I also love those early U2 albums! My favourite is October, even though it's maybe sad album, but sooo beautiful! Most U2 fans thought of those early albums as still raw and just a beginning before something more interesting. But for me they have special energy and maybe in October it's most distinct what I felt about U2 music synesthetically in general ~ for me it's like cold clear waterfall streams!

[@CalicoSilver]

@@anoccasionaldream I love October also. But I think War is my favorite. Probably because it was so huge when I was in college and enjoying my youthful life so very much at the time.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Absolutely first class Jeff. I,ve always thought Bob Dylan used the bible the way Herman Melville did in Moby Dick John Wesley Hardin ,in my view, is Dylans, most bible inspired album The way you lead us through the COMPLETE text is really masterful and I thank you for it (not pick one or two lines to interpret a whole text)

[@gavinbutler5219]

Fantastic review jeff, it's amazing how he can apply the timeless to his own situation, he always seems to have the ability to overcome obstacles in his work with new insights and inspiration.

[@CalicoSilver]

Believe it or not, I've never read Moby Dick! I am embarrassed to admit it, and I should remedy that deficiency before I die. Thanks for your kind and encouraging words, Alexander. I really enjoy talking about these Dylan songs, whether I am right or wrong (most likely). Jeff

[@CalicoSilver]

Indeed, Gavin. There will only be one Bob Dylan, that's for sure. He's in a class all his own.

[@randybbear]

Well done, sir! I love that song, and have always come up short analyzing the lyrics-thank you for giving me understanding. I really like the spiritual connection ,and brief history of Bob Dylan during the time he wrote the song-keep up the good work, my friend. I wonder if Jimi Hendrix had your understanding when he performed this great song?

[@CalicoSilver]

Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

[@TheGuitarlegend69]

Well said my friend! The pure brilliance of it all and the way it was narrated. The nail has most certainly been hit on the head. A good insight into a beautiful mind.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thank you!

[@popgoesthe60s52]

Well done, Jeff - loved it! A little Bible study won't harm anyone!

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Matt. I am happy people enjoy these lyric reviews as much as I enjoy making them. Cheers. Jeff

[@harrylazard805]

Love this analysis of this great Dylan song. Since you were focused on the lyrics I would like to say the harmonica introduction to the song sets the mood for this story so well I'm into it before the first words are sung. The storytelling presented images in my mind that weren't as related to each other as the way you could tie them together with your knowledge of the Bible, terrific. I like the song even more now...

[@CalicoSilver]

True, Harry. I vastly prefer Dylan's own version of this song to any others, including the Hendrix hit. But what a great song.

[@harrylazard805]

@@CalicoSilverIt's clearer what Dylan must have meant after your analyses But my first listening to it reminded me of when I was a kid and my older brother read The Raven from his high school English literature textbook. I wasn't sure what so much was going on but I knew how I felt while he read it, I was witnessing one hell of a story...

[@CalicoSilver]

@@harrylazard805 One day I expect to receive a message from Dylan telling me what a totally misguided buffoon I've been in regard to his lyrical analysis, haha! But that is not even the point, IMO. Great art and great poetry are not "great" behind closed doors - the recipient of the art/poetry matters as much as the creator.....meaning that how we receive and interpret or feel when we encounter and consider the art is what makes the entire concept of art whole. A guy who writes a masterpiece of a novel that no one ever gets a chance to read is not the fullness of art. And how the recipient receives the art is not even the point, but that it IS received and that an impact is made. That is the point. This comment I am making really sounds ridiculously hoity-toity BS, but I do believe it.

[@harrylazard805]

@@CalicoSilver Yes Jeff I think a good story releases some kind of endorphins within us if it ignites our imagination. Much different than a song or story telling us what to think. Dylan may disagree but what does he know? ha, ha....

[@robintownrobintown]

this is brilliant! I thought the plowmen stuff was a bit of a stretch but it all comes together, I'm amazed

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks. Haha, it is pretty much ALL a stretch! Haha. But seriously, thanks for your kind comment. I appreciate it. Cheers.

[@harryzlotzlottos5715]

Passionate review on Dylan’s Watchtower Jeff…Great references to the book of Isaiah . The famous scripture in chapter 2:4 ..is quoted a lot ! Cheers.

[@CalicoSilver]

Yes indeed - plowshares and pruninghooks are the better alternative. Thanks, Harry.

[@user-kd2sg1vz9n]

Great explanation, I won't be able to treat those lyrics differently from now on

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks!

[@Nick-qf7vt]

Jeff, the most fanatical zealots I've ever come across are those belonging to the cult of modern secularism. I gotta say, I get quite a kick out of watching those types of people getting angry at the mere mention of the Bible. I find it hilarious that out of all the musicians in the world, these people gravitate toward Dylan, one of the most Biblical people in modern music!

[@CalicoSilver]

Haha, so true, Nick! I always get comments like “you were doing well (in the review) until you got to that Bible mumbo-jumbo”! Hahaha. Oh well, it is their willful loss, I say. 😉

[@georgecoventry8441]

Fantastic analysis! I think you have nailed it. Again, I missed *some* of that over the years of my studies of Dylan's work, because it did not occur to me to interpret it *much* in connection with the Bible. I looked at it on other symbolic levels instead, though I was aware that like so much of his work it probably did have Biblical connections. Reading the verses in Isaiah 5, I now see what you are saying quite clearly about the "vineyard", and it makes perfect sense. The Bible (the Old and New Testaments) is actually the primary cultural foundation of the entire western tradition, and it must be thoroughly read with that in mind in order to understand where our civilization came from...and where it is going. Most of Dylan's writing is actually about himself......what matters most to him...and his relationships with the most important people in his life (many of them women)...and his relationship with the Eternal. In this respect he is like everyone else, because that's what we all must deal with in our lives. Your perception that the Joker and the Thief are both Bob Dylan.............two sides of Bob Dylan...the performing artist and the creative artist......that's brilliant! I think it's wonderful that I can still learn BRAND NEW things about Dylan and his work after immersing myself in it since 1969! Wow! Thanks, Jeff!

[@marcoesquandolez4737]

This was a very enjoyable video. I think you nailed it!

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Marco! I appreciate it. Jeff

[@kenkaplan3654]

This is a very good review although it is a little unsettling to me that it is more personal as opposed tp universal than I would like. I have always argued context in interpreting Dylan's songs. This was probably written late in 1967 after recuperating from a(sic) motorcycle accident ("wheels on fire" might be an allusion to it). It was written after an exhausting and dispirited tour in which Dylan was constantly and often bitterly attacked ("Judas") for his electric sound. If it had been written in 1969, after Altamont, then I would say it was a more societal commentary, as most of Highway 61 Revisited is, but it wasn't. I agree there are dominant personal elements here. However, what is true for one can be true for all and issues of barrenness and violation by powers that be can be felt by everyone. However in the Summer of Love (1967) I am not sure those would have been on top for many , as opposed to 1969, when the Grateful Dead wrote "New Speedway Boogie" about Altamont. The postulate that the Joker and Thief are two sides of Dylan is credible but Dylan liked to play with outsider motifs. ("To live outside the law you must be honest"). Here the two protagonists are outside the game of convention. I agree with the symbols in the first verse but the fact that "plowmen" dig my earth imo refers to the concert goers and fans who are not people of stature like businessmen. Plowmen are farmers and in the times the song is situated, everyone was one The verse has a sense of barrenness and isolation. "There must be some way out of here. I can't get no relief" The second verse, unlike most of the songs on Highway 61 turns away from cynicism, as you point out. "But you and I we've been through that, and that IS NOT OUR FATE", We've been down this road, there is something else. We will not give in to despair. I agree totally with the sense of urgency. There is no more time to play these old games The third verse is more elusive. Totally agree influence comes from Isaiah, especially 21, but "Princes kept the view while women came and went (and servants too")-these are the bastions of conventional society -feels more than a vineyard and suggests castle., which also had watchtowers. .I'm not sure the ending is either positive or non apocalyptic but the imagery is stark. The distance is cold, The wild cat growls, the wind begins to howl. These are forces of nature that are beyond human control, untamable- there is a parallel with Shakespeare's Lear in the storm. Maybe Dylan felt something was coming beyond control of the "Masters", that forces were at work not of human control. It certainly happened in 1968 and the song was written at the END of 1967. I don't think INSIDE is Babylon because the Isaiah passage says "she has fallen" indicating something outside the fortress. However since I agree there is there is much that is personal that impacts this song, it is possible that the changes coming are needed. However ( for me) the tone and the ominous nature of the lyrics suggest Dylan is relating back to so much of what is on Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde. "this whole toxic game is going to fall apart", whether it be his own personal life or what he feels is societal or both. As to the latter, the song as a post apocalyptic song is prescient, whether Dylan meant it as such. It is hard for me to imagine his ego being so big as to ascribe these quite profound images as to a purely personal situation. Positively 4th street seems ensconced in the personal and has no images like these. (except for one enticing line "f I was a master thief perhaps I'd rob them". But that was two years earlier and maybe Dylan was moving to a more ethereal space. He began a retreat from social commentary to the very good but very different Nashville Skyline and then imo went on the skids and couldn't really find himself again (I know you like New Morning-doesn't impress me) until the truly great "Blood on the Tracks". Very interesting review, Jeff. Much to think about. Your allusions to the Bible verses and history is excellent.

[@CalicoSilver]

Wow, thanks for your great comments, Ken! I enjoyed them so much, I read them three times! Haha. I really appreciate your input. Very interesting. Cheers. Jeff

[@kenkaplan3654]

@@CalicoSilver Thanks Jeff. We share a passion for Dylan and take him seriously. Always enjoy your videos. To be honest, sometimes we understand them better ten him but think he has grudgingly expressed that contrary to what he put out for years, that have great meaning. you just cant tell me "It's All Right M" and "Desolation Row" were just ransom images thrown out.

[@happyhippythevinylguy]

Fantastic review of this song my friend! I really like how you broke it down ✌️

[@CalicoSilver]

Dylan would probably hate it, haha!! Thanks Rod.

[@happyhippythevinylguy]

@@CalicoSilver LoL

[@alv4794]

That was fantastic Jeff. Glad to have you back again. Missed the reviews and commentary. Hey if you get a chance give Chris a call.

[@CalicoSilver]

Hi Al. Thanks, my friend - I will definitely call Chris today. Hope you are well! I miss seeing you guys. Maybe again one day when I'm down in Florida visiting family. Jeff

[@CalicoSilver]

Hey Al, I've tried calling Chris a few times since you suggested I call him, but no answer. I've emailed a few times also but no answer. I hope everything is OK with him. Please let me know. Thanks. Jeff

[@alv4794]

@@CalicoSilver I will have Chris call you...he has been going through medical issues.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@alv4794 Thanks Al. He can call or email whenever he wants. No pressure. Just glad to hear he’s still with us - I was starting to get worried!

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Also very glad to notice that you came to the same conclusion that the ,,Howling Wind,, at the end of the song is really a wind of change.

[@CalicoSilver]

Yes! Those "winds beginning to howl" were definitely a sign of something coming....a change for the better, IMO. Thanks, Alexander.

[@dylanblonde]

Please write a book on Dylan so your words will then be around for ever.

[@CalicoSilver]

My wife has been saying I should write a book too. I tell her that my thoughts on all of this Dylan stuff are my own, are likely to change with time, and probably wrong in the first place, haha!! But maybe..... Thanks for your encouraging comment. Jeff

[@guryelali2359]

You nailed this one bro But it could also be prophetic about our times

[@TripleThreat2405]

A very impassioned interpretation Jeff! Well done. BTW, happy birthday, you look damned good for 71. If I didn’t know better, I'd say you don’t look more than a few days past 60. Must be that clean mountain living! haha

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Dan! Yes I am one fine and good looking specimen, that’s for sure. Of what, I don’t know.

[@davestevens1600]

You nailed it.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks! This is one of the few Dylan lyric interpretations I am somewhat proud of, haha!!

[@TheGoldenCapstone]

I don't know if you've done it before, but I'd love to see your lyrical review of Dylan's Jokerman, or I and I. Both seem full of references and really interesting concepts.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks. If you watch my review of the "Infidels" album I go into some detail about one interpretation of "Jokerman". I've since altered my interpretation somewhat, even though it is quite similar in many ways, but yes, "Jokerman" is on my short list of songs to review in the near future. As for "I and I", that is a tough nut to crack for me. As I mentioned in my "Infidels" review, I think it might be in reference to something about which I know very little, namely Rastafarian themes. But I still hope to attempt to interpret it at some point. Thanks for asking. Cheers. Jeff

[@electricfence61]

Three words you started this review with Jeff, " Mixed Up" & "Confusion".... those words ring bell!! I always suspected the last verse of this song started out as the first....make any sense Jeff????

[@CalicoSilver]

Hi Mick. Haha, yes I remember when I said “mixed up” and thought of “mixed up confusion” too. Yes I know that Dylan mentioned that the song was in a bit of reverse order. But I never pay much attention to what Dylan says, hahahaha!! Just kidding. 😉

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

somehow my previous message got lost in a black hole (you Tube??) but did you come across a interpretation of ,,The Watchtower,, by a certain Bishop Bannon? Quite interesting to compare yours and his.

[@CalicoSilver]

No it never came through, Alexander. I would love to read it, though.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

@@CalicoSilver Actually it is Bishop Robert Barron from wordsonfire

[@CalicoSilver]

@@alexandervaneijken7741 Thanks, Alexander. I watched his video. Our interpretations have some similarities, but they are actually very different. He uses Isaiah 21, as I did, but in typical fashion with "men of the cloth" and other clergy, he exhibits the usual laziness when it comes to Biblical interpretation and use of Biblical references to interpret other things. (Pardon me here for a moment while I rant a bit.....) He is not even able to READ Isaiah 21 properly, much less use it to interpret the song. It is because of lazy (or incompetent) clergy like this that the overwhelming majority of people are misinformed about anything Biblical. Anyway, because of this, his interpretation, while sounding like it might have some similarities with mine, is actually very different, and that difference is in part due to the above. Cheers. Jeff

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Hello Jeff, I cannot agree with you more. It is remarkable that even a small sentence like ,,Said the Joker to the Thief,, can cause so much CONFUSION. Imagine The idea that here is meant the Thief on the cross is simply ridiculous. Here you have a person whose hands and feet are nailed to a cross hanging there till death do us part. No water,no food etc. Ultimate torture and this person exclames :,,There must be some kind of way out of here.,, I find that extremely Pythonesque Also the bishop,s notion that the Watchtower is the cross...... You really should write a booklet where you gather all your Dylan interpretations (and believe you me: these interpretations will hold till the end of time) just like somebody else suggested. How about : twenty interpretations of Great Dylan lyrics (un updated version will be: thirty etc.) I will order a copy (hopefully signed by the author) immediately. I mean it Jeff,They are THAT good No false modesty here , Well see you around.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@alexandervaneijken7741 Hahaha! "Pythonesque" is spot on, Alexander. I try to avoid commenting negatively on others' interpretive opinions unless they are claiming to be experts in the field in question (theologians and clergy, for example). I doubt too that someone hanging on a cross 'til death would be saying "there's no reason to get excited" about the experience, and/or opining that "life is but a joke" and declaring that "this is not our fate" and all that Pythonesque silliness when relating to torture, haha! But some people hear a key word and understandably, but without good reason, go instantly to an image they've been taught since childhood: "thief" --> "thief on the cross"?? Again, I enjoy all interpretations, but coming from clergy who should know better (and I've met more than I can count) I become quite critical. Thanks for your kind and encouraging words! I am humbled by them, especially coming from you, Alexander. Thanks again. Jeff

[@tayamorris4758]

Great review

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Taya!

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

I mention two favourite poems that I can read again and again and again and again I am really moved by them. The first is by Edward Thomas and is titled Adlestrop and the second one is by William Wordsworth and is titled Intimations of Mortality. Just two examples. The reason I mention this is that I was wondering whether you are MOVED by this particular lyric by Bob Dylan or simply find him a clever wordsmith Understanding a poem ,of course, comes first. Appreciation MUST follow don,t you think? A good poem must touch your soul. Are there lyrics of Bob Dylan that touches your soul ,or are they simply very clever and you are glad that you found the key for understanding and unraveling his symbolism. You consider Bob Dylan the greatest poet of the twentieth Century We disagree ( no problem at all)My choice would be : Robert Frost and William Butler Yeats. The lyrics of Bob Dylan simply do not MOVE me. (though I really love them)

[@CalicoSilver]

GREAT comment, Alexander!! I need time to respond appropriately and I have to leave in a moment so I will come back later today to respond. Thanks for the questions! Jeff

[@CalicoSilver]

Short answer for now: YES I am deeply moved by Dylan's lyrics...

[@jackwardrop4994]

IMO the “wine” is a play on the word “whine”. So he’s saying record label execs lap up what he cries, moan and sings about. Ultimately they make money off of him. I agree about the Biblical references though, just that he is playing with the word “wine”. This is also like “2 riders were approaching” can of course sound like “2 writers were approaching”.

[@CalicoSilver]

Interesting takes, Jack. Thanks.

[@davestevens1600]

This song is a hymn copied and pasted; half isaiah 21 half matthew 21 I like your take on Dylan for sure.

[@MrGazosa]

Excellent research and interpretation.of Dylan’s lyrics(I especially loved your review of it’s alright ma’.) But I have to disagree with you about the overall influence of the Bible on this one and your reference of Babylon and the Babel Tower . I always saw this more like a Middle Ages Northern European landscape. The barefooted populace and the women they are hurrying in from the fields to shelter behind the watchtowers. The menace is out there and is approaching fast, behind the ryders and the cold wind and announced by the mournful growl of the wildcat in this lonesome and forsaken landscape. ( in fact in this 3rd verse there is an aftertaste of Hank Williams :“ Alone and Forsaken” Even In the insistent minor 7th key ) The first two verses they bring me right in the crowded steamboat of Melville’s “ The Confdence Man” Were the Joker and the Thief try their best to save their lot from Business men ( those could represent Record Co. Executives or maybe not) and from ploughmen, the laborers, the hired hands. So in this lifelong Con game that is nothing but a joke , both the thief and the joker are old hands, they don’t get excited, they stop the BS and take charge. One can argue that the Joker and the Thief could be Cain and Abel , like in another Dylan song, but that is far fetched. I can see this reference to 18th and 19th Century America all throughout the album. Which is one of my very favorite.

[@CalicoSilver]

Wow, thanks for these great comments, Aldo. I really enjoyed reading them. I learn so much from Dylan fans who think deeply into his amazing lyrics. Jeff